
You just never know what life is gonna hand you.
Sometimes it's a scone. When you're hanging on a building. On the 25th floor.

The other day I was outside on my deck snapping pictures of freshly baked Lemony Medjool Date and Pomegranate Scones, when I heard a whirring sound close by. I turned, and standing right next to me were two smiling window washer guys.
Me: "Um, Hi."
Jerry: "Hey. How's it going?"
Me: "I'm all right. You guys hungry?"
Jerry: laughing "Yeah! Whattya got?"
Me: "Freshly baked scones with dates and pomegranates."
Jerry: "Cool. Yeah, I'll have one. You know, this doesn't happen too often in my day."
Me: "Yeah, it doesn't happen too often in my day either."
And with that, Jerry selected his scones and posed for a few pics.

Lemony Medjool Date and Pomegranate Scones (Low-Fat!)
These sweet-tart scones are low in fat yet high in flavor. With bright red pomegranate arils and soft, chewy Medjool dates, they make an ideal addition to a holiday brunch.
Makes 8 scones
Print recipe only here.
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Smart Balance, chilled (butter substitute)
1/4 cup non-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh Medjool dates, coarsely chopped (about 6)
1/4 cup pomegranate arils (the edible red pieces of fruit)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cashews or walnuts
egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten OR 1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon low-fat milk, lightly beaten
1-2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) for sprinkling on tops of scones
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place oven racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk cottage cheese, buttermilk, lemon zest, and vanilla; set aside.
In another bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add chilled butter (in small pieces), and mix with a pastry blender or fork, until a coarse meal forms with tiny pea-sized butter pieces. Mix in dates, pomegranate arils, and nuts. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a fork, mix until just combined. Do not over mix or the dough will become leaden.
Using a floured surface, shape the dough into a disk, about 1/2-inch thick. With a wet knife (to make slicing easier) cut the dough into 8 triangular shaped scones. Place scones on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
Brush egg wash over the tops of the scones and sprinkle with turbinado sugar before baking.
Bake scones for 15 minutes, rotating pans mid-way through. Bake until puffed and golden; transfer to a rack to cool.

You might also like these brunch-friendly items:

Healthy Muffins


55 comments:
Yes, you never know how life will surprise you!!!! Ha, ha... nice little story, Susan!
I bet Jerry licked his fingers ;D
Lucky Jerry!
That's funny! We had some window washers outside our office building and we made them a little sign and offered them some water. Then, in true Italian fashion, they asked us to make them a coffee (which we did) :) I'm sure they would have loved the scones, too :D
Susan having fun with those biys are you :-)
It was fun reading about it and scones looks fabulous and delicious
The scones look fantastic!! And I love that they are low-fat!!
i loved that story :) lucky jerry! i'll bet you made his day! these scones look great. i love poms, combining them with dates sounds super tasty :)
A funny story! I can understand that they were happy to taste your wonderful scones!
Cheers,
Rosa
GREAT story!
I'm not a fan of scones - but those sure do look and sound fabulous.
Awesome post.
Your scones look delicious, with bits of pink/ red peeking out.
So you live on the 25th floor? :)
Oh man, that must've made their day! How sweet of you :]
These would of course be perfect fare for holiday brunches across the world. Loved that you were able to share as well:D
What gorgeous scones, Susan...Jerry and his buddy's smiles say it all :-)
How funny! Those guys are lucky! These scones look really delicious. I just love pomegranite.
just like ur scones made them smile, ur post made me smile :) what a sweet gesture ....:)
LOL...so you just handed the scones to them from your balcony?
I think they really climbed up the building just for scones...
Now that's a 'random act of kindness"!
That's funny! Jerry was a lucky guy eating your delicious looking scone!
You are just full of fruit knowledge! I never even thought to wonder what the red edible parts of a pomegranate are called. Sound like scrumptious scones!
I love that story! It made me smile just thinking of those lucky guys and their delicious scones.
I'm sure they went home and told their wives about the lady who was taking pictures of food on her balcony! Maybe Jerry has his own blog?!
Ha ha! That's great. I used to share baked goods with my fresh direct delivery guys but they had them change routes. I miss them- they keep me thin!!
How funny -and how nice of you to share these wonderful looking scones!!
It's ALWAYS nice to share-- even if they drop by your window, no matter how high up you are, heh heh :) I'd just discovered the taste of dates. Combining them with lemons sound like an awesome idea!
nuria-I think he did. ;)
stacey-:)
sara-You made coffee? That is too funny.
happy cook-It was a hoot!
maria-Me too! Thanks.
heather-The flavors compliment each other beautifully.
rosa-thanks a bunch!
kiwi-Thank you, kindly! I'm glad you liked the post.
aparna-They're like little jewels. :)
verygoodyear-I hope it did!
val-Food is always better when shared. :)
sunita-Thanks so much!
elly- The pomegranate really adds some punch!
shn-I love to make people smile.:)
peter-Yup! Too funny, huh?
foodalogue-Yeah, huh? :)
linda-Glad you liked it!
michelle-I love my pomegranates!
lynn-I'm so glad to hear that.
lydia-I'm sure I was mentioned at the dinner table that night. ;)
jennifer-"they keep me thin." I love that. :)
deborah-I love to share food.
mark-They did drop by, huh? ;) Dates and citrus have an affinity for one another.
Wow! You feed scones to construction workers? And they loved them? You go girl!
Loved the story! I never thought about adding pomegranate seeds to a scone, brilhant! Oh, 25th floor sounds so nice......Yeah, I am on the 3rd...
Nice story! Were they surprised to see you photographing food? I always wonder what the neighbours will think when I carry the food around the house's various windows looking for the perfect light - they probably won't understand what on earth and why on earth!
So was Jerry's partner on a gluten-free diet or did he take one too? Great story, Susan. Reminds me of a funny thing I read some years ago. Across the street from a high-rise construction site in Manhattan, in the middle of winter, some office workers put a sign in the window that said, "It's 72 degrees in here." Later the construction workers put up their own sign. It said, "It's $32 an hour out here."
these look sensational Susan! Love the medjool dates - I've brought a tray full of these dates into work!!
What a great story!! You totally made their day. And the scones look so pretty and festive.
What a nice story! :)))
Scones look yummy; sooo yummy!
Hi Susan... how sweet of you! Do you live or work on the 25th floor? :-)
This is hilarious! I bet they'll be telling this story to everyone they see over the holidays, starting with "You'll never guess what happened to me at work the other day." I wonder if they'll ever see this post? ; )
Oh, the places you'll go, little Scone! :-)
Hilarious! I love the photo! Now you did say lowfat??? And they look like that? I wish I had the energy right now to whip some up! They look delicios!
we don't have any window washers here in the countryside hehehe... two lucky guys!
oh my goodness, you got caught taking pictures of food! Too funny.
Love it, both the story and scones.
Lucky window washers! Never thought to make scones using the pomegranate arils! Great idea. Love the use of low or no fat ingredients, too.
Jerry is a lucky man! I love love these scones Susan! I am only missing the dates right now but that is easily fixable :)
I hope Jerry's partner got one too. Perfect holiday scones!
You'll always have the best polished windows now Susan...& with word getting around there'll be a load of interested faces popping in at your deck! Those scones are so different & so delicious...I can clean windows for those...anyday!!
cory-It was fun!
rita-I just added them on a whim. They were great!
sra-Yup! They sure were!
terry-He got one too. Ha! I love that story.
meeta-Medjools are divine.
cwannabe-I hope it made their day a little brighter. :)
medena-Thanks! :)
cris-Thanks. It was fun.
anali-I hope so. I gave them the name of the blog.
cakespy-Now that's a cute comment. :)
marie-Yup! Lowfat!
arfi-Maybe you'll have to find some construction workers.;)
rachelle-Who would have thought?
burcu-Thanks!
elle-They add zing!
helen-I know. It's easy to have dates around. :)
susan-He got one too, of course!
deeba-That's what I'm hoping too. ;) Thanks! You're so sweet.
;) the life of a food blogger!
What a wonder post. That is really just what cooking is about and how perfect right now, shucks that's perfect anytime.
Thanks Susan!
Ha ha, that's hilarious! They came by just at the right time, must have smelt the beautiful aroma.
I love that you got a photo of the washer guy eating the scone! They look and sound delish.
LOL - talk about surreal!! Those look like fantastic scones...
Lovely. The pomegranates are wonderful at the moment. Will definitely try these out.
What a story!! Those are some lucky window washers!
Great story! Those scones sound incredible.
I made these for a co-worker's birthday breakfast and they were a huge hit! I doubled the batch so I could have extras at home too.
really really delicious!
What a creative recipe! The combination of pomegranate seeds and dates sounds wonderful.
The only scones I've made are butter-based. I notice that your recipe calls for no butter and I'm wondering how this affects the flaky texture?
lisa-Thanks for letting me know! I'm so glad they were a hit. :)
tiffany-I use a butter substitute, which works well in baked goods. I don't know if you can tell by the last pic, but the texture is slightly crisp on the outside and moist on the inside, though not really flaky. But, oh, they're good! :)
The scones look delicious, thanks for this nice post.
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